I am officially insane

[lls_mutant]

Eek. I did it. :) I signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon. It's in November.

The one thing I really, really hate about these sign-ups is that they're non-refundable. I'm just scared I'll get hurt sometime in the next six months and then be out a hundred bucks. But I really hope not. This is- I think- going to be the only marathon I ever do, and I'm excited for it.

I don't think I'll ever do another. The amount of time you have to dedicate to training - even the kind of training I'm doing, which is "get from the start line to the finish line" - is pretty big, and with two small kids.... Yeah. And true, as they get older, they won't need so much supervision, but they'll need rides to baseball practice or karate tournaments or home from marching band practice or whatever. I'm sure it's doable, but... But hell. I'm also convinced that, while you can train to do it, the human body wasn't meant to be running 26 miles at a shot. I mean, didn't the first guy who did it DIE? So after this, I'm scaling back to 10Ks or 1/2 marathons. (Although, I confess- I would LOVE to do an Iron Man relay.)

What utterly amazes me, though, are people who do even LONGER runs. Like 100 mile runs. (Although you know what's really sick? I hear about these things and there's a little part of me that says, "hey, I wonder..." I hear that challenge and it's almost like I HAVE to do it.) Or even longer, a 3100 mile race. (Yes, you read that right, and yes, I had one of those "hey, I wonder..." moments there, too, but my brain kicked in REALLY fast on that one.) Or a marathon in Antarctica. Which, what is wrong with me that I'm even clicking on the website?????

Okay. Back to reality. The Philly marathon is reputed to be one of the fastest to run, because the course is very flat. The half last year was a blast, and this should be, too. Of course, after all this lofty talk, tomorrow's run is 5-6 miles. Heh.

Back to writing....

Comments

[mysid.livejournal.com]

I mean, didn't the first guy who did it DIE?

Yeah, but he ran it after engaging in hand-to-hand combat all day while wearing heavy armor.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

This is true. But STILL! :) (He also probably ran it a lot faster than I'd ever consider, but hey.)

[trovia.livejournal.com]

And true, as they get older, they won't need so much supervision, but they'll need rides to baseball practice or karate tournaments or home from marching band practice or whatever.

Nonsense! You're just gonna run them there!

Problem solved. ;)

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Heh. I'd like to say they can't keep up with me, but it's so not true :)

[aome.livejournal.com]

The amount of training is part of what's holding Will back, too. He finished one marathon before we had kids, and DNF on the Philly one the year we got MiniPlu (partly due to injury, partly due to anti-abortion protesters on the river route). He partly suffers lack of confidence, but he also knows just how much time is involved with the super-long training runs and a) doesn't want to saddle me with that and b) barely has enough time for the training he DOES do. Right now his bike runs are about marathon-training length, but that's of shorter duration. Maybe someday he'll get there. Meanwhile, go you! *cheers*

And *ouch* to the price!

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Ouch is right! Although it's better than some of the others! (And that Antarctic one? It was like, 10,000 pounds to run in.) But yeah- saddling Howard with that much child care... I'm right there with Will on that thought.

What happened with the protesters???

[grey-sw.livejournal.com]

Marathon running has actually been linked to serious heart disease, so you might be right about that. It seems as if some cardio is good for you, but excessive amounts of it can be damaging.

That said, the study involved people who'd run an average of 20 marathons and were averaging 35 miles a week -- not your ordinary runner, that's for sure.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Good to know that yeah, it is pretty crazy :) I can't imagine managing 35 miles a week for an extended time. If I was single, I could, and I can remember doing 25-30 miles a week, but it's just such a time commitment....

[theluckyone20.livejournal.com]

I attended the Philly marathon once, to watch a friend of Ann's run. Can't speak to its speed, but I'll certainly vouch for it being one of the wackiest. People running backward, people running while juggling... my favorite was the guy running in a tutu, pink butterfly wings, and a magic fairy wand. Look for him in November!

In all seriousness, congratulations on committing, that's really admirable. Good luck! :)

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Those are my people :) The slower people tend to get a little wacky- you need to do SOMETHING to make 4-5 hours of running interesting!! :)

Thanks!